Fathoms Below
by LawliPop
Summary: Three years later, Makoto makes another discovery on the beach. [Same universe as 'Curiosity', 'If Only', and 'Beyond the Sea']
1. Chapter 1

_**Lawli:** _Happy birthday, Makoto! x3 I finished this a bit early just so I could post it for his 'present.'

It's the next part of my weird mermaid au! This is the chaptered fic that I mentioned in my notes of 'Beyond the Sea'. I'm not sure how many chapters it will have, I'm aiming for 5 or less? We'll see how that goes...

Please enjoy~! Comments are welcome if you're feeling generous!

_**Warnings**: none for this chapter_

* * *

"Don't forget, you must submit the first draft of your independent research projects by the end of next week," the professor shouted over the end-of-class ritual of aimless chatter and zipping backpacks. Professor Ryuugazaki was a recent graduate of the university, and while revered as one of the youngest marine biology students to earn a doctorate, being so close in age to his students did not bode well for managing a classroom. Most of the time they were respectful and attentive, but getting the class under control at the end of a Friday was still something he had to work on.

A particularly clumsy girl knocked over the precarious stack of binders and notebooks on her desk, sending loose pages flying and triggering a raucous fit of laughter. Makoto cast her a sympathetic look and stooped to help her gather her belongings, but she ducked her head in embarrassment and insisted she could do it on her own. As students filed out the door, forming plans amongst themselves for the weekend, Makoto shouldered his own book bag.

Professor Ryuugazaki beckoned him over before he could even make it down the auditorium steps. "Tachibana-san, may I have a word?"

When Makoto reached the front podium he offered a smile, which the professor did not return. "Is something wrong? I know I turned in my research topic a bit last minute, but I'm pretty sure it still made the deadline? Unless I had the dates mixed up..." His voice trailed off and he scratched the back of his neck, unsure of what else to say. He'd never been in trouble with a professor before, and really he couldn't think of what else he might have done aside from turn in the assignment tardy.

"You made the deadline just fine," Professor Ryuugazaki assured him. In his hands he held a green folder, the same one he'd passed out to all his students upon first mention of the research project. On the bottom right-hand corner of the folder Makoto's name was written in permanent marker. "It's your research topic that isn't acceptable."

Makoto's smile faltered. "My topic?"

"I don't doubt you'll find adequate text research, but even still I can't approve your choosing a mythological creature. This is partially an _observational_ study." Professor Ryuugazaki handed the folder back to him. Blushing, Makoto took it and opened to the first page, where a red '_INSUFFICIENT_' marred a detailed breakdown of the main points he hoped to make on his project. Makoto opened his mouth to protest, but Professor Ryuugazaki held up a hand. "While I appreciate your imagination, I think it would be suited best for another field of study. Creative Writing, perhaps, or World Mythologies."

The professor clearly hadn't intended for his words to be hurtful, for behind the glint of his red-framed glasses his eyes conveyed a soft encouragement. He didn't want to stifle Makoto's creativity, but he touted the widespread belief that such topics of fantasy were inappropriate in a scientific setting. Nevertheless, a sting of humiliation shot through Makoto. It slid down his throat and festered in the pit of his stomach as he accepted his demerit and promised to choose a more applicable research topic, and stayed with him during the trip from campus to his apartment, gradually spreading throughout his body like a slow, burning poison.

He didn't know what he'd been thinking when he submitted his research proposal. Maybe he'd been no different than the other students trying to take advantage of Professor Ryuugazaki's new-hire status; or maybe he'd just wanted to bare his heart to someone in the same field as himself, who might understand but was bound by student-teacher confidentiality to keep private.

Makoto gingerly touched the stone that hung by a simple brown rope around his neck – an iridescent lavender scale permanently trapped within crystal. The stone was always pleasantly cool to the touch, despite its confinement against his skin by layers of clothing, and even after all this time Makoto swore he still felt a hand passing the keepsake to him, holding it to his heart.

Three years had passed since he'd last seen Haruka.

The first month after their initial parting, Makoto wandered the beach nightly in search of him, and to his great surprise Haruka actually met him several times under the pier where he'd first made his discovery. These visits lasted no more than a couple of hours, Rin always surfacing too soon to take a begrudging Haruka back with him, but they fueled Makoto's belief that, somehow, they could have a lasting relationship.

Makoto realized the flaws in that idea now, of course, the most glaring being that despite their attraction to each other they were of two different _species. _Haruka could not dwell on land any more than Makoto could live under the water, and their ritual meetings were a danger to the both of them. As much as Makoto wanted to shout from the mountaintops about the entrancing creature he loved, to do so would expose the whole Sessa race, and then he and Haruka truly would be parted forever.

Midway through the second month, Haruka's visits became less and less frequent. Some nights Makoto would approach their usual rock beneath the pier and discover only Rin, his magnificent thresher tail submerged beneath the waves, waiting for him. While not seeing Haruka disappointed him, Rin was fascinating company in his own right, despite being quick to anger and prone to ditching Makoto without warning. It was Rin, more so than Haruka, who taught Makoto about his kind. He was hesitant to reveal too much information, but fond of gloating, especially if it meant showing off how the Sessa were superior to humans. Rin explained how Haruka acted as leader of their pod, both a symbol of fertility to their kind and in charge of overseeing the rearing of newborns.

And it was Rin who told him, just at the start of the third month, that Haruka would lead the pod in their winter migration. This was a gestation period for the Sessa, which meant slow, careful travel to warmer waters, where they would birth and raise their young.

Rin had promised their return, but pointedly never gave any indication of when that might be.

It was easy to assume, after the first year combing the beach revealed naught a sign of a silver body or pearlescent tail, that they would never return. Rin emphasized the importance of partners among their species – how while a Sessmalla could mate with as many Sessa as he chose, whom he chose as his partner meant something else entirely – but, at the end of the day, Makoto accepted that his idea of a life partner and Haruka's remained vastly different. Or, even if it didn't, it made far more sense for Haruka to choose a partner who could constantly be with him rather than someone he might occasionally meet on the beach for a few hours at a time.

What killed Makoto was never saying a proper goodbye. Despite Rin's assurances – and they'd seemed genuine at the time – the pod had clearly moved on. Haruka had moved on.

Maybe that was the real reason he chose sirens for his research project: a last-ditch attempt to discover Haruka again – to have an excuse to seek him out.

_Well, it doesn't matter now._

After flipping through his textbook that night, Makoto decided on the much safer and more appropriate topic of the Spider Crab. They freaked him out to look at, but observing them would be easy enough to do at the aquarium. Professor Ryuugazaki would be pleased, if nothing else.

' ' '

A voice called out to him every time he slept.

Deep, melodic. He knew it anywhere, but putting a name to it brought nothing but pain, and so he closed his eyes and tried to forget. But even as he willed it away the voice pursued him, a mournful song reaching out for his very soul, intent to drag him down.

_"Makoto."_

Something brushed his side – the cool, sensual caress of a frilled tail. Makoto shuddered and blindly reached out. Even if it only brought heartbreak, Makoto had to see him. Even if he awoke only to an empty bed, Makoto had to feel him.

Haruka's tail curled invitingly around his waist, drawing them closer together. Together they floated in an endless stretch of blue that could only be the sea. Alone in the sea with Haruka, swimming alongside him... If only such things were possible.

Thin, webbed fingers cupped the sides of his face as Haruka pushed their foreheads together. "_Makoto bi llo ffha_."

Makoto held him desperately, and sealed the gap between their lips. His erection pressed insistently against Haruka's slit. "Haruka... Ha-_Haru_..."

Haruka's bright blue eyes locked with his, and for a moment Makoto forgot how to breathe. He was so beautiful, so indescribably beautiful, Makoto wanted—

"Mako-chan? Earth to Mako-chan!"

Something hit the back of his head and Makoto started, leaping up from the table with a sharp cry and nearly spilling his soda everywhere. Nagisa caught the bottle before it could topple over, not bothering to hide his amusement.

"Oh my God," Nagisa crowed, smacking the table enthusiastically. "You're such a spaz!"

Makoto's cheeks colored brightly. "You smacked me on the head," he pointed out, trying to hide his embarrassment. "What did you think would happen?"

With a sigh, he directed his sulking toward his pizza crust, which he probably had a higher chance of receiving sympathy from than the giggling little demon across from him. Hazuki Nagisa had been Makoto's best friend since elementary school. Although they were a year apart in age and didn't have much in common, Nagisa had latched himself onto Makoto from the get-go, and his outgoing personality had been a good influence to bring the shyer Makoto out of his shell.

When his laughter finally eased, Nagisa leaned forward over the table, chin in his hands. "So, who's Haruka?"

A theatre student and notorious class clown, Nagisa's life mission seemed to be tormenting Makoto, but this topic came completely out of left field. Nagisa shouldn't know anything about Haruka. Despite wanting to confide in someone about his phenomenal discovery, Makoto remained steadfastly tightlipped over the years. "W-what?"

Nagisa played with his straw. "You were saying it in your sleep." He struck a dramatic pose, slinging an arm across his forehead. "Haruka-" the pose changed suddenly, as did the tone of his voice, to one breathy and impassioned – "_Haruka_!"

The tips of Makoto's ears burned. He stared resolutely at the pink and yellow straw swirling round and round in Nagisa's bottle. "Ah, that..." The phantom brush of Haruka's body against his own made his lips tingle, but thankfully he hadn't awoken aroused. Had he really said lewd things in his sleep? "It's nothing."

Nagisa did not look convinced. "It didn't sound like nothing. Is she your girlfriend?"

"No! I – Haruka is..." Makoto fidgeted, unsure of how to explain – or, better yet, get Nagisa to drop the subject. "Well, he doesn't live here, so it doesn't matter."

That proved an immediate wrong choice of words, as Nagisa's grin threatened to consume his entire face. Magenta eyes twinkled conspiratorially as Nagisa rubbed his hands together. "_He?_ Oho, is Mako-chan batting for the other team now?"

Makoto blushed darkly. He'd never told Nagisa about his sexual experimentation. Not because he didn't care about Nagisa, more like because he didn't want the entire rest of campus finding out. Nagisa was an infamously bad secret keeper; Makoto learned that lesson the hard way very early in their friendship, when he confided he'd wet the bed after watching a scary movie in sixth grade. He shuddered at the memory of jeering eleven-year-olds asking him if he still wore diapers.

Nagisa flashed him a thumb's-up, but he was observant enough of Makoto's fallen spirits to drop the subject of Haruka for now, though Makoto not fool enough to believe the information hadn't been stored away in that devious mind for canon fodder in the future.

"I think Mako-chan would make an excellent boyfriend," Nagisa was saying, as he flipped aimlessly through his biology text.

Right, he was supposed to be helping Nagisa study for an exam. Nagisa's parents were more practical than their son, and only agreed with Nagisa choosing a theatre major on the condition he minor something that could actually get him a real job after graduation. Naturally Nagisa had picked a subject his best friend excelled at so he could always have a private tutor on hand.

Makoto started as Nagisa suddenly reached across the table and grasped his hands. "Oh, Mako-chan, won't you be my wife?"

"What?" Makoto ripped his hands away. "What are you talking about?"

"I was just thinking about how cute a boyfriend Makoto would be. I bet he's the sort who packs an extra lunch to share, and always has tissues when you have a cold, and always surprises you with presents to brighten your day. And I remembered how cute he is with his little brother and sister and thought, gee, he'd probably be a good mom—"

"Why would I be the _mom_?" Makoto demanded, aghast.

"And then I thought, aw, how cute is Mama Mako-chan, taking care of the kids and the house. He doesn't cook too well, but he puts his heart into all of his meals and always wears a cute little apron while he's in the kitchen!" Nagisa actually squealed. Makoto fought to keep his face from combusting into flame at the sheer ridiculousness, but Nagisa didn't stop there. He took Makoto's hand again and made a show of kissing the palm. "So Mako-chan simply _has_ to be my wife!"

Makoto silently thanked whatever deity listening they were in the safety of Nagisa's dorm and the embarrassing proposal – or whatever he should call that – hadn't occurred for the student body to see.

Somehow he managed to pry his hand free. While he didn't think Nagisa would ever pass him up, he'd grown like a weed at the end of high school, and his size, while still not comparable to Makoto's own bulk, now only reminded Makoto that even as the shortest boy in his class he'd always been deceptively muscular.

"I thought you were seeing someone," Makoto said, to ease the petulant frown on Nagisa's face.

Nagisa's expression brightened at the reminder, but only slightly. "Rei-chan is so not the nurturing type," he whined. "Whenever I complain about something, he tells me to deal with it on my own because –" he adopted a deeper tone of voice – "a struggle is good for character building."

"Was that supposed to be him?"

Despite the put-on, Nagisa's voice had a distinct lilt. His drama professors were constantly on his case about it, Makoto knew, because apparently a person's voice could greatly reduce the amount of roles an actor could play. Naturally Makoto was the person called upon – usually during the inconvenient late hours after rehearsal, when Makoto would rather be sleeping - for Nagisa to practice building his range.

"It sounded just like him," Nagisa said, and stuck his tongue out.

Makoto picked up his soda and drank slowly, more bide for time than anything else. An opportunity to tease Nagisa rarely surfaced, and he fully intended to take advantage. "So you say. But it's been two months and I still haven't met the guy. For all I know you could just be making him up."

Nagisa heaved a sigh, abandoning all pretense of studying as he swiped his books to the side and threw himself over the table, arms stretched toward Makoto. "Rei-chan is so shy," he said. "I keep telling him to come over, or to just come out when we go to the movies or whatever, but he's afraid of what people will think."

"Because he's older?" Makoto didn't know much about his friend's most recent love interest, but he'd been told at least that much, and also that 'Rei-chan' apparently worked at the university. Makoto could understand how people might get the wrong idea about a professor engaging in a relationship with one of his students, but from what Nagisa said they weren't in the same department, so it wasn't as if he was getting any favors out of their dating, grades-wise. He cast Nagisa a compassionate smile. "It's not even that much of a gap. What is he, twenty-three?"

"Twenty-four," Nagisa moaned.

"That's only five years. It's not a big deal." Better than his own situation, at any rate, where he still didn't know Haruka's age. According to Rin, the Sessa grew and developed almost parallel to humans up until their sexual maturity, when their aging stalled for a length of time; they were not eternal, but their lifespans did generally outclass their land-dwelling relatives.

"_I_ know that. And I'm sure he does too, he's just too focused on what society thinks. It's weird enough that we're two guys, y'know?"

"Not that weird." To show his support, and also because Nagisa was nothing if not an attention-seeker, Makoto patted him encouragingly on the head. "If he ever comes around, I'd love to meet him."

Their study session wrapped not long after that, Nagisa declaring he wanted to call his boyfriend to try and convince him to meet his friends and Makoto, hardly refreshed from his quick nap, happy enough to give him privacy. Despite the tired drag of his limbs, the remnants of his dream spurred him to take the long route home. He stared out over Iwatobi Bay as he walked the shoreline, taking in the sparkle of moonlight on the constant shift of the waves.

He'd long accepted he'd probably never see Haruka again, but sometimes he could not stop the flick of his eyes over the bay, the vigil for a flash of silver or iridescent purple fluke disappearing under the waves. There was nothing, of course, but the water lapping gently at his feet and the swelling of his own heart.

He did not know if the Sessa were the unknown presence in the ocean he'd sworn he could feel all his life, but ever since meeting Haruka his fear of the endless blue shriveled. It still existed, darkness in the back of his mind that reared its ugly head occasionally, usually in his defenseless sleep, but for the most part he could fight it off.

After a while, his feet carried him to the rock on which he'd first discovered Haruka; the rock they'd met upon many a night before Haruka's unexplained disappearance, where Haruka brought him gifts from the sea (a sign of courtship, Rin enlightened him) and Makoto attempted to teach Haruka Japanese before inevitably they would resolve the ache of having to part by kissing each other breathless.

Far more nights than he would care to admit Makoto spent upon this rock since then, hoping, waiting like the lovers of old tales waited for their sailors to return from sea. A small, jealous part of him wondered if Haruka had another mate to whom he brought gifts now.

Sessmalla can mate with whomever they please, Rin had said. Although he also said Haruka was extremely picky with whom he chose to open himself up to so intimately. Rin was not kind enough to divulge how many Sessa _had_ met Haruka's standards; apparently it wasn't a human's business, and Makoto should feel honored to have been chosen at all. Most of the time, even after all these years, it only confused him.

Not that dwelling on it now did him any good.

If Makoto were smart, he would move on. Give up the poisonous dream of '_maybe one day'_ slowly eating away at him and focus instead on the number of healthy and, more importantly, lasting relationships he could have in his life. Makoto did not consider himself a heartthrob by any stretch of the imagination, but he was attractive in an unassuming way, and for the most part people seemed to like him. So why couldn't he let go?

Why was he still drawn to the ocean, pulled by the sound of a voice he hadn't heard in three years?

Makoto picked up a flat stone come loose from the jagged rocks of the outcropping. With a flick of the wrist he sent it skipping over the waves. When it finally sunk, he laid back on the rock and pillowed his head in his arms.

What felt like not even a minute – but from the position of the moon had to actually be a few hours – later, a high-pitched squeal jolted him awake.

_Haruka._

His feet carried him of their own volition, kicking up water until he'd waded in past his thighs and started to propel himself with his arms. He'd had Nagisa give him a few basic swimming lessons since his encounter with Haruka, and while he had nothing in terms of proper form he could at least keep himself afloat. Not being able to see his own feet at the bottom made him tremble, but the thought that he might finally be reunited with Haruka spurred him on.

A shrill whistle, and Makoto's breath caught as he spotted the small, thrashing body tangled in a shark net.

The nets were designed under the principal of "fewer sharks, fewer attacks," and kept sharks and other large animals from venturing too close to shore. Due to the bycatch of endangered species, they were greatly frowned upon, and protested against by Iwatobi's marine conservationists especially.

He wished he carried a pocketknife on him, or anything that might help him free the poor creature. Hopefully its body wasn't so entangled he could manage with his hands – if he was able to bring it to shore at all.

It reminded him of finding Haruka, even though he could already tell this merman was not the lover he'd lost. The pearlescent tail almost gleamed a light blue in the moonlight, but the most obvious clue was the merman's size. Even with the length of the tail adding an allusion of maturity, the human portion of the body was tiny, no bigger than a toddler's. His heart went out to the poor thing, whose despairing whimpers and cries tugged at Makoto's every nurturing instinct.

Somehow he got his arms around the merman, and began a slow trek back to the shore. The net dragged in the water behind him, Makoto relieved to discover it only a remnant that must have broken off.

Keeping the lower half of the body submerged in water, Makoto eased the merman gently onto his back and winced at the lashes that marred the silver skin. There was nothing Makoto could do for him on the beach, aside from untangle him. With luck, the youngling's parents were nearby in search of him.

"You'll be fine," he whispered, petting the merman's silky black hair in an attempt to soothe him. "I'm going to take care of you."

The merman clicked in a way that sounded like whining, his terrified downturned eyes locked on Makoto's. Weakly he tried to wriggle away, but the net impeded his movement. Makoto hushed him comfortingly.

"I'm going to get you out of this, but you need to stop." There was no use explaining himself, as he figured the merman far too young to have picked up on any human language yet Maybe he spoke only to ease his own frantic heart. "The more you struggle, the worse the tangle will get."

Lulled by the calming murmur of his voice, the merman gradually stopped moving. First his arms stilled at his sides, enough for Makoto to work the intricate knots loose and slide the net from around narrow shoulders, and then the tail ceased its restless back-and-forth swish. The tail's length and many frays made it more of a challenge, but eventually Makoto was able to free the creature.

Once the net was cast aside, the merman wiggled again, experimentally.

"There's nothing I can do for the cuts," Makoto said apologetically. Wide blue eyes blinked owlishly. They reminded him of Haruka. "Can you swim?"

A series of clicks answered him, and the toddler held his hands up. Despite the language and species barriers, the unspoken plea to be held was universal and warmed Makoto's heart to see. A child was a child, and when afraid, nothing comforted as much as the embrace of a parent or adult.

Makoto held him tight, smiling at the way the toddler nuzzled into his chest.

In the distance Makoto heard another call. Two high notes, followed by one low, which the young merman reacted to in a way that Makoto realized it was his calling sound.

"Someone's looking for you," he said, loosening his hold on the little body. "That's good." He'd been afraid to let the young merman back into the ocean alone.

The toddler squirmed to look back out at the bay, but did not attempt to free himself from Makoto's hold otherwise. The whistle sounded again, softly inquisitive, and this time the child answered. His voice was high and sweet, and the sound he made achingly familiar.

One high note, one low note, and a staccato click.

Disbelief stole the very breath from his lungs as, hesitantly, Makoto lifted his gaze to open water. A short distance away, a dark shape bobbed among the waves, drawing steadily closer.

Silky black hair, piercing blue eyes, even the slight roundness to his cheeks... How did Makoto imagine this child as anyone other than Haruka's?'

"It's you, isn't it?" The wind carried his whisper over the crash of the waves, and Makoto saw the exact moment Haruka heard. "You were gone so long... I didn't think you'd ever come back."

Haruka turned his head to the side in his telltale signal of avoidance. Perhaps Haruka truly never intended to see him again. For some reason, and not merely ego, Makoto could not accept that as truth. The moon revealed an embarrassed flush to Haruka's skin. He whistled for the child again.

The toddler in Makoto's arms nuzzled resolutely at his chest, tightening his grip around Makoto's shoulders, showing he very obviously did not wish to go anywhere. The little sounds he made wanted desperately to form words, but never extended beyond elongated vowels and too-sharp consonants.

As any parent met with disobedience, Haruka's expression darkened. His voice turned harder, but still the child ignored him in favor of Makoto.

"He's yours, right?" Makoto didn't look away from Haruka. "I should've known. He looks just like you." Not wanting to be the source of discontent, he pried the merman's arms from around him. The youngling squealed in protest. "And I think he has your temperament."

Haruka did not answer for a long moment. Then, he gestured to the child. "Mieko."

A girl's name. Makoto wondered if Mieko was Sessmalla like Haruka. Rin had said that being born as such was exceptionally rare, but perhaps it was a genetic trait Haruka could pass on to his children? Or maybe all Sessa were born as one gender, and changed once they hit their equivalent of puberty. Makoto didn't know. Whatever the case, Mieko was beautiful, and he did not hesitate to tell Haruka that.

Haruka blushed but made no comment. Makoto yearned to go to him, but he noticed the deliberate distance the merman kept between them – how he kept calling out for Mieko rather than coming to retrieve the child himself. A painful lump lodged itself in his throat, but Makoto forced himself to swallow it down. He nudged Mieko off his lap.

Mieko glanced up at him, blue eyes wide and despondent. There was something familiar about them, aside from the color, but Makoto couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Finally – and looking extremely regretful all the while – Mieko drifted out toward deeper water. Haruka held out his arms for the child, but Mieko flicked his tail and passed him by. Makoto could not understand the youngling's hostility, so contradictory to how affectionate he'd been when Makoto held him.

Haruka turned back to the water, and Makoto jumped to his feet. The loud splash caused Haruka's bright blue eyes to flicker in his direction.

"Wait." Haruka stiffened as he drew closer. "_Please_—" Before he could dive below the surface as he was poised to do, Makoto managed to grab his elbow. The skin was smooth and cool to the touch as he remembered. "Haruka..."

Mieko stared at them from where he floated several feet away. As much as Makoto wanted to pull Haruka flush against him and reignite whatever spark they'd shared, he wouldn't do that in front of Haruka's child. Instead, he kept his grip loose enough that Haruka could easily pull away if he so desired.

"Will I see you again?"

Haruka frowned, and Makoto feared he really was overstepping some boundaries – that Haruka really wanted nothing more to do with him. What happened in the past three years? Back when Rin first insisted they could not see each other, Haruka had been furious. He'd literally attacked Rin for merely insinuating he stay away from Makoto. So what changed?

"I just..." Makoto took a deep breath, hating the tears that gathered in his eyes. He couldn't cry about this - not when Haruka's face remained so impassive, not while Mieko watched with single-minded interest. "I missed you," he confessed. He pulled the stone – Haruka's parting gift – out from under his sodden shirt, and swore Haruka's eyes widened slightly upon catching sight of it. "I've thought about you every day, and I – even when I thought you'd never come back, I still –"

Haruka's hand settled against his chest, over the stone. Unidentifiable emotions swam in his eyes. Makoto's heart hammered against his rib cage as the merman came closer, almost close enough for their bodies to brush. He felt the tickle of Haruka's hair at his sternum as the frilled tail slid apologetically around his legs.

Makoto didn't want to beg, but he found the words coming out anyways. "Please say you'll come back."

A harsh searchlight fell over the beach. Makoto squinted as it landed upon him. He didn't have to look to know both Haruka and Mieko had disappeared.

Someone ushered him from the water, chastising him about swimming in the ocean so late at night. Makoto didn't hear any of it. Only one voice reverberated in his mind, one promising whisper, and it was Haruka's:

_"Soon."_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Lawli:** A little late, sorry about that! Enjoy and leave a comment if you're feeling generous._

_**Warnings**: none for this chapter_

* * *

Soon, Haruka had promised. Soon.

Nearly a week had passed since then, and Makoto was starting to think he'd been lied to yet again.

For the most part he tried to keep himself busy, and his independent research project ensured he had plenty with which to occupy his time. If not at the aquarium, he could be found in the school library pouring through books and internet articles dedicated to the study of Spider Crabs. Within the first two days of diligent work he had more than enough to fill Professor Ryuugazaki's project requirements, but the next two days saw him above and beyond what he knew would be a perfect score. And on the fifth day, a tired Wednesday, a book he'd purposefully avoided earlier finally gnawed at his subconscious effectively enough for him to pluck it from the shelf.

Nestled between _Song for the Blue Ocean_ and _Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea's Biodiversity_ was a thin, leather-bound text, the title of which had faded with age. Discovering it had been an accident, and he was actually surprised the University library housed such a book. Subjects of fantasy had no place in an academic setting, right?

To his credit, he did not check the book out. The book would only pass a bit of time until he had to go to his environmental history class. With that in mind, Makoto flipped to the unit dedicated to myths and magic of the sea.

There were stories he'd heard before – tales of Calypso and Neptune, of the dreaded Kraken and deceptive sirens. Makoto paid special attention to that section, trying to relate any of the information listed to what he'd gleaned of the Sessa. But the book mentioned nothing of the unique hierarchy he'd learned about from Rin, or the existence of a third gender, and while they did note the beauty of sirens their drawn depictions in no way did the actual creatures justice.

The second half of the unit was dedicated to magical spells associated with the ocean. Protection wards and enchantments to assure safe passage by sea, talismans and good omens for fishing.

A call to return to the sea - the headline of one of the final chapters – caused Makoto's breath to hitch. A picture underneath the title showed a man whose body appeared human, but who seemed to have grown gills in order to exist below the waves.

_'Some research insists that humans evolved to live on land. With this thought, can we assume that creatures such as mermaids are in fact our ancestors? If so, is there any way for humankind to return to our ancient habitat of the sea?_

_While no concrete evidence exists to prove such a revolutionary feat, this author is hopeful. The following spells, collected from historical texts around the globe, boast of such powers to allow man to return where we most belong, beneath the waves.'_

Makoto closed the book forcefully, and tossed it into the returns bin before he had the chance to talk himself out of doing so. Reading any further would only encourage false hope, and getting over such a hope once before had taken nearly three years. He didn't know if he had the strength to go through it a second time.

So he went to class early, tried not to think about mermaids, or humans evolving from life under the sea, or the impossible idea of living happily ever after with Haruka. Real life did not work like the movies; it didn't always have a fairytale ending. Makoto knew that. In the true story of The Little Mermaid, the mermaid died of grief and became the foam of the sea, doomed never to be with the one she loved.

Makoto had a life, family and friends and a prospective career ahead of him. He could be happy, if only he could let this go and give himself the chance.

That night, he tried to do just that. When he got a text from Nagisa exclaiming he and his boyfriend were going to the movies and not-so-subtly hinting Makoto should do the same if he ever wanted to meet him, Makoto abandoned his sulking and changed into a form-fitting pair of jeans and nice shirt, and left the apartment before he could talk himself into doing otherwise. A distraction was just the thing he needed, and he wouldn't find that sitting at home by himself.

Living in a small town, especially near the university, had its advantages – namely, that every desirable location was within walking distance. The trek to the movie theatre took under ten minutes. The bigger cities had nicer theaters than Iwatobi's, which housed only three screens and was in serious need of remodeling, but it still got all the main motion pictures – even some of the more popular American blockbusters - and it was connected to a cute plaza with a café and a few restaurants, which created a nice social environment.

Nagisa sat at one of the café tables, sipping away at a strawberry bubble tea. He jumped to his feet when he spotted Makoto, and began to wave his arms enthusiastically. "Mako-chan, over here!"

Makoto didn't need the invitation. His feet carried him assuredly over the cobblestones of the quaint plaza, but he stumbled and came up short as he realized who sat at the table with his friend. "P-Professor Ryuugazaki?"

The professor started, violet eyes widening comically behind his glasses. Obviously Nagisa hadn't told him they would have company on their date, and Makoto felt not only bad for interrupting their time alone, but also awkward for having to approach a teacher in public. His skin prickled as a flush crept down his neck, and he debated whether or not he should bow. He took his cue from the professor, who gave a polite nod of the head in greeting.

"Eh?" The straw popped out from Nagisa's mouth. "Rei-chan is Mako-chan's teacher?"

"Not so loud," Professor Ryuugazaki – Rei – cried, scrambling to his feet. Nagisa sent him a wicked grin, and Rei's cheeks immediately flared.

Makoto would have pitied him, if not for the obvious affection in both their eyes. "He teaches marine biology, and I'm studying marine biology. It's not that hard to put together, Nagisa." In fact, he was sure that Nagisa had figured it out already. That was probably the main reason he wanted Makoto to be the first of his friends to meet his boyfriend. "It's nice to see you, professor."

Nagisa pulled a face. "Don't be so formal. You should be friends. Call him Rei-chan!"

"Nagisa, I'm not going to call my professor '-_chan_.'"

"It's fine, it's fine," Nagisa insisted, waving protocol away with a dismissive hand.

Rei adjusted his glasses. "He's right. If we're out together like this, it's kind of embarrassing if you address me so formally."

Makoto remembered Nagisa telling him how worried Rei was about what people might think of him dating a student. The less attention drawn to Rei's profession, the better, and since Rei himself was giving permission, Makoto supposed he could learn to speak to him more casually when in public. "If you say so, Rei."

"Thank you. It's nice to see you also, Mako-chan...san."

A moment passed in complete silence, and then Nagisa busted out laughing. Rei blushed and crossed his arms over his chest while Makoto fought to keep his own grin at bay. "Just Mako is fine," he insisted.

"Rei-chan is priceless!" Nagisa crowed, pulling his boyfriend into his arms. They were about the same height, with Nagisa maybe an inch shorter but Rei more slender in build, but they suited each other.

Makoto wondered what Haruka would look like, if he stood at his side. Would they compliment each other? If he had legs, would Haruka be taller than Makoto, or would they fit together as they had before, with Haruka's head at the perfect height to rest against his shoulder, and meet his lips with a faint tilt. Would Haruka like his friends? It was hard to imagine the stoic merman joking and laughing with anyone, but Makoto knew firsthand that Haruka had a playful side. He liked to think Haruka and Nagisa would get along well, and Rei, having a PhD in marine biology, would be endlessly curious of Haruka.

Therein lay the problem. Makoto could never introduce Haruka to his friends, because such curiosity was dangerous. Even if Makoto trusted Rei to be respectful of the marine life he studied, not everyone was so virtuous.

Not that it mattered anyway, since Haruka wasn't likely to return.

"Everything okay, Mako-chan?"

Makoto focused back on the couple. They'd moved ahead of him, their free hands locking together in a discreet hold. Pushing his own feelings aside, he smiled. "It's fine. What movie are we seeing?"

While Rei launched into a summary of the ratings and reviews of the current movies playing, Makoto ignored Nagisa's prying gaze.

' ' '

In the end, Makoto's willpower turned out to be pitifully weak. Knowing that Haruka was out there, swimming somewhere in Iwatobi Bay with Mieko and possibly Rin and the rest of his kind, Makoto could not keep himself away from the beach long.

Equipped with a flashlight and first-aid kit – in case Mieko had fallen victim to another shark net – Makoto found himself pacing along the shore after dark the vey next evening, eyes peeled for the slightest unnatural ripple among the waves.

When he reached the rock he'd dubbed as his and Haruka's, he was surprised to discover it occupied.

Mieko looked up as he approached, blue eyes brightening considerably as they landed on Makoto. Obviously recognizing him, the youngling chirped in delight and held up his arms. After a small bout of hesitation, Makoto sat down on the rock and let himself be hugged. Mieko's long tail descended into the water, light blue scales reflecting the moonlight.

"I didn't expect Haruka would let you come back here," Makoto said, as Mieko nuzzled against his arm, subtly guiding Makoto to hold him. Pulled by brotherly instincts, Makoto relented and wrapped the young merman in his arms. "Does he know you're here?" When Mieko pointedly looked away, Makoto took that as an answer in itself and heaved a sigh. "He's not going to be happy with you."

The first night Makoto came across Mieko, it had been obvious by Haruka's frantic calls and the tension between the pair upon reuniting that the child was not where he was supposed to be. Makoto hadn't the faintest idea if Sessa were the punishing sort, and if they were it wasn't his place to question how others – especially another species – parented their children. The last thing he wanted was for Mieko to get in trouble.

"You should go back," he said gently.

Mieko stubbornly shook his head, reminding Makoto of when Haruka first refused to return with Rin. There was no mistaking the relation there, and not for the first time Makoto wondered at the identity of Mieko's mother. Being nearly the spitting image of Haruka, it was hard to piece together what the other parent might look like. The eyes were a different shape: downturned, and a bit wider set than Haruka's. But they shared the same hypnotizing, crystal blue color.

Realizing he was staring, Makoto coughed. He tried to sharpen his features into that of a scolding adult, but the severity felt unnatural on him and soon melted away to a look of tired concern. "It's not safe for you to be out here."

There was no chance of Mieko understanding, but still he felt the need to convey his worries. For Haruka and Rin to breach the surface was one thing – and still not safe, as Rin had warned every available opportunity. But they were adults, at least, and had ways to defend themselves. Looking over Mieko, Makoto could see the child hadn't even grown into his teeth yet. Rather than Rin's shark-like jaws or even Haruka's small but razor-sharp teeth, Mieko's teeth were rounded and blunt, like a normal human's.

When Mieko's obstinate resolve still did not falter, Makoto tried a final time. "Don't make your father worry." Whatever animosity between them could be forgiven over time, and Haruka could surely take care of his child better than Makoto.

Mieko tipped his head to the side, nose scrunching. He whistled a few times, high and low, high and low. Then he opened his mouth. "Faahhr."

Makoto smiled apologetically. "I don't know your word for it. Haruka." Mieko still did not look like he understood, so, not for the first time, Makoto attempted Haruka's calling sound. He wasn't that great at whistling, and he didn't think it would be recognizable at all to Mieko, but he weakly pushed the air through the small gap between his lips in what he hoped were the correct notes, adding the click at the end.

Mieko blinked, and then dissolved into bubbling laughter. Makoto blushed, embarrassed but good-humored enough to laugh at himself. Despite his show of amusement, Mieko had apparently gotten Makoto's meaning. He effortlessly repeated Haruka's calling sound, and lurking in the depth of his blue eyes Makoto found a question.

_How do you know him?_

Makoto hesitated only for a moment to pull the crystal tear necklace out from where it lived beneath his shirt. The instant the moon caught on the purple scale trapped within, Mieko gasped, and his tiny hands reached for it. He caressed the teardrop, and when his blue eyes met Makoto's again they were filled with a strange recognition.

A soft voice reached his ears, and it took Makoto a beat to recognize it as Mieko speaking not in his typical clicks and whistles – which Makoto, quite incorrectly, assumed was all he knew at such a young age – but in the Sessa tongue. Makoto didn't know the word, and couldn't fathom what it translated to in Japanese, but saying it appeared to embolden Mieko. The child beat at the water with his tail and repeated the word a few times, punctuating every so often with Haruka's identification sound.

"Mieko." Makoto took hold of the boy's arm, trying to calm him, but Mieko only bared his blunt teeth and hissed, anger primarily directed towards the water. Not knowing what else he could do, and fearful that Mieko might draw unwanted attention if he kept on shouting, Makoto hoisted the young merman out of the water and into his arms.

Mieko automatically fell silent, eyes growing wide as he registered that he was now fully out of the water – and moving even further away, as Makoto stood up. Makoto expected him to panic, to try and free himself and return to the ocean, to his home. But Mieko only wrapped his arms around Makoto's neck and trembled silently. Makoto settled a hand against the small back, rubbing soothingly.

And then the bone shifted underneath his fingertips.

Makoto almost let go in his surprise and, as if sensing this unsettlement, Mieko clung tighter. A faint whimper escaped the boy's lips as he pressed his forehead to Makoto's chest, and Makoto scrambled for what he could do, how he could ease Mieko's pain.

"Haruka." Makoto whirled around, facing the bay and searching frantically for any sign of black hair or silvery tailfin. "Haruka!"

Mieko began to squirm in earnest now, wriggling his tail desperately. There were tears in his eyes, and he looked at Makoto with such confusion and anxiety Makoto wanted nothing more than to assure him that everything would be all right. But he had no idea if that was true – had no idea what was even happening. Haruka had been fine when Makoto took him from the water. Being away from the sea had dehydrated him a bit, but as far as Makoto knew it never caused him this excruciating pain.

Makoto pet the boy's hair, murmuring comforting words in his ear because that was all he could do. The first aid kid he'd brought was useless, since this wasn't a superficial wound. It was happening inside – twisting Mieko's innards and rearranging them, splitting him apart and remaking him into something entirely different.

A short pair of legs wrapped around his waist, and Makoto suddenly knew what that something was.

Mieko was _human_.

_But not entirely human,_ he remembered later, once he'd returned to his apartment and calmed down some.

After Mieko's tail morphed into a pair of legs, the child had promptly passed out from exhaustion. Makoto had waited on the beach for a time, hoping for Haruka or Rin or even an unfamiliar Sessa to surface and offer some kind of explanation. Even if they shunned Makoto and just took Mieko back with them, he wouldn't have minded, because at least it meant Mieko would be properly looked after.

But no one came, and with little alternative options, Makoto took the boy back to his apartment. He didn't bother filling the tub, because Mieko had legs now instead of a tail that needed constant moisturizing, and when he'd dressed the boy in an old T-shirt big enough to swallow Mieko's whole body, he noticed Mieko's gills had closed. The marks remained, but appeared to be nothing more than thin scars along his side that had long since healed.

Tomorrow he would return to the beach, and hopefully from there things would sort themselves out. Because Mieko wasn't human, not really – or, at least, not entirely. He belonged in the ocean, with his parents and the rest of his kind. Even if he could sprout legs – for all Makoto knew, a talent possibly inherent to all Sessa – there was no way he could live on land without a family to raise him.

Without his tail, Mieko looked exceptionally tiny, barely a toddler. He took up a small corner of Makoto's bed, hardly visible underneath the blankets. Makoto's heart went out to him, but left him under no delusion that he could actually take care of the child. He was young himself; had his school and own life to worry about. When he took Mieko back, placed him back in the water, with any luck whatever transformation occurred would be undone.

If not... Well, Makoto didn't want to think about that.

For now, there was nothing more he could do. Mieko was asleep, and the next day would bring a whole new world of troubles, so for the time being Makoto decided he'd earned a rest as well.

Careful not to wake Mieko, he climbed into bed beside him, and drifted off to the thought of what Haruka would look like if he too became human.

' ' '

Several hours later, he awoke to wet sheets and Mieko crying.

Makoto cursed himself for not thinking to put a towel or something else that might absorb water underneath the toddler, because even normal humans still had nighttime accidents at that age. Mieko, unaccustomed to a human bladder, couldn't be blamed for what happened, and Makoto rushed to assure him, as he stripped the bed and got Mieko out of the damp clothes, that it wasn't his fault.

Mieko tried to whistle, but it appeared Makoto was right in assuming how the Sessa produced the sound was different than how a human did. The failure did nothing to calm Mieko down. His cries increased in volume as he made another attempt, succeeding in little more than spitting.

Makoto wiped the saliva from his chin. "It's okay, Mieko. Don't worry."

He gathered the boy in his arms and carried him to the bathroom, where he proceeded to wash him off with a damp cloth. Afraid submerging him in the bath might trigger Mieko into changing back into a merman, he figured a sponge bath the best option; taking a care of a human child would be easier for him than Mieko's true form. But then, changing back to his normal body might comfort the child somewhat, and Makoto needed to see to the ruined bed sheets anyways, so after cleaning Mieko off he put the stopper in the drain and filled the tub up with several inches of water.

Mieko seemed pleased. His tears momentarily dried as he reached his hand in the warm water and, with very little ceremony, climbed in. Makoto held his breath, expecting the child to start screaming and writhing in pain as he had on the beach, but nothing happened. Mieko splashed his hands in the water, and seemed particularly interested in his new legs – wriggling his toes and giggling as the water slid between them.

Relieved, Makoto ruffled the boy's hair. "I'll be right back," he promised.

His apartment didn't come with much, but thankfully there was a stacked washer-dryer unit concealed in the hall closet. Makoto usually went to the Laundromat since the unit didn't hold much and running it tended to rack up his electrical and water bills, but for right now it was a Godsend. He stuffed the urine-soaked sheets into the machine and added a generous amount of detergent.

The sound of Mieko playing in the bathroom made him smile. It reminded him how much he enjoyed taking care of his siblings when they were little, and he wished he had any kids toys he could offer Mieko. At the very least, he could bring the boy something to eat.

Recalling Haruka's affinity for canned fish, Makoto figured that would be the best choice. He pulled a can of mackerel from the pantry and returned to the bathroom with it and a glass of milk.

Mieko was on his back in the shallow water, one of his toes in his mouth. He pulled himself upright when he spotted Makoto, making happy, unintelligible sounds, and dropped his foot back into the water.

"Here," Makoto said, offering the can of fish. "You might like this better."

Cautiously Mieko sniffed the can, and then took it carefully. He was more hesitant to eat it than Haruka had been, though he seemed to enjoy it well enough. He quickly abandoned it in when he caught sight of the milk. Makoto watched in dismay as chopped mackerel bits fell into the tub, now inedible, but Mieko paid no mind. He sucked at the lip of the glass in a very obvious way, making Makoto doubt that he'd been properly weaned yet. Mieko seemed a bit old to still be feeding from his mother, but perhaps it was different for the Sessa.

Gently, Makoto helped Mieko to drink from the glass without spilling too much of the milk. The taste clearly wasn't what Mieko was accustomed to, for more than once he threw the glass a dubious look, but he drained the glass nevertheless. Once finished, Makoto fished him out of the water and toweled him dry, rinsing down the tub only after he'd changed Mieko into a fresh shirt.

To preoccupy the child while he changed the sheets, Makoto tried to offer him knickknacks from his room – a trophy from his high school soccer team, one of his textbooks – but Mieko seemed interested in only one thing: Makoto's necklace. He held it reverently when Makoto handed it to him, staring lovingly at the scale trapped within. Makoto wondered where his anger, which the necklace seemed to have triggered before, disappeared. Not that he minded.

As Makoto busied himself with making the bed, he heard the despondent would-be whistle of Haruka's name.

"Haruka," he said gently. Mieko lifted his head from where he'd laid down on the floor. "Try saying it. Haruka."

Mieko blinked, then looked down at the stone in his hands. "Aaroo-kah."

Makoto smiled, stuffing a pillow into a pillowcase. "Or maybe I should teach you to say 'papa.'"

"Paah," Mieko repeated softly. "Aaroo... paah."

Mieko said the words over and over, voice growing fainter until Makoto finally looked over and discovered the toddler had fallen asleep, the necklace pressed up against his heart.

Carefully, Makoto scooped Mieko up and settled him back down on the freshly made bed. He'd made sure this time around to keep Mieko's side padded with towels to soak up any future accidents Mieko might have. Before he pulled away to his own side of the bed, he kissed the silky black hair, so much like Haruka's. "Goodnight, Mieko."

Mieko murmured incoherently in his sleep, Makoto catching only what sounded like "paah," and curled closer to him.

' ' '

"Wow! He looks a lot like you, Mako-chan!"

He hadn't wanted to. He really, really hadn't wanted this to happen. When morning came, Makoto texted Nagisa that he was sick and wouldn't be going to school. Any normal person would have simply wished for him to get well soon and went on with their day. But Nagisa came banging on the door some twenty minutes later armed with a goody bag of what he dubbed "staying home sick must-haves" – which included store-bought chicken noodle soup, tea, ibuprofen, and a stack of romantic comedy DVDs.

All pretenses flew out the window when Mieko, rather unsteady on his legs, crawled into the room, and Nagisa squealed in delight. Not used to improvising, Makoto stammered out what he hoped was a believable lie about Mieko being his paternal uncle's son. Thankfully Nagisa hadn't pried for too many details, although Makoto should have known from the wicked gleam in the blonde's eyes that Nagisa would stay quiet about any suspicions.

Currently Mieko sat with Nagisa, quietly studying the new face. Makoto hesitated before replying, afraid of where his friend might take the conversation. "Y-you think so?" He honestly hadn't noticed any similarities, but that was probably because he was too blinded by the clear resemblance to Haruka.

Nagisa nodded enthusiastically, bouncing Mieko on his knee. Mieko swung his legs happily. "Yeah. He's got Mako-chan's cute droopy eyes, and the same mouth." He frowned suddenly. "It's weird. I always thought you looked like your mom, but I guess some of those traits run in your dad's side of the family, too."

Makoto forced a laugh that sounded nervous even to his own ears. "Guess so," he agreed, unsure of what else to say considering Mieko rightfully shouldn't share any traits with his family.

"Ah – look, look!" Nagisa pointed to the bridge of Mieko's nose, whereupon close inspection revealed a faint smattering of freckles. "Just like Mako-chan!"

Makoto rubbed at his own nose, where his freckles were known to appear whenever he spent a bit of time in the sun.

Nagisa winked slyly at him. "Are you sure you're not hiding anything from me?"

Blushing, Makoto shot to his feet. "Nagisa! That's—" Impossible. Completely, utterly impossible. "_No_!"

"Oh, come on. It's not like you're a virgin. You don't really sleep around, but it's totally possible." Nagisa's eyes lit up, as if he'd slid the final piece of the puzzle into place. "Didn't you have a serious girlfriend three years ago? Oh, what was her name? Cute brunette. Oh, oh, I remember! Hana-chan!"

"He doesn't look anything like Chigusa." As he said it, Makoto wasn't sure whether he meant to defend his ex-girlfriend or Haruka. Hanamura Chigusa was a kind person, and she'd been a thoughtful girlfriend; they'd parted on good terms, and Makoto had no desire to slander her name by insinuating he'd knocked her up in high school. To say Mieko resembled Chigusa, however, was equally insulting. Chigusa was cute, but Haruka was beautiful. "He takes after his father. My... uncle."

Nagisa did not look convinced. He ran a hand through Mieko's soft hair, lips pursed. "This wouldn't have anything to do with Haruka, would it?"

Makoto blanched. He'd hoped Nagisa would have forgotten that conversation by now, but just as he'd feared the imp had only stored the information to fire back at him later. Before he could even try to deny it, Mieko tilted his head back, a grin lighting up his face.

"Paah!" Mieko seemed to have retained the small language lesson Makoto had given him. He pointed to Makoto's neck, where hung the crystalized teardrop, then clambered onto Makoto's lap and reached for it. "Aaroo paah!"

Unable to resist, Makoto pulled the necklace out. Mieko squealed and cupped the small stone in his fingers, peering at the lavender scale.

"This belongs to Haruka, hm?" Nagisa drawled, as Mieko enthusiastically showed him the necklace. "I'm guessing that's not the only thing, though." He jabbed at Makoto's arm. "Explain."

Makoto hesitated. He couldn't tell Nagisa the truth – but he wanted to. Carrying that secret on his own was a tremendous burden, but he didn't know if he could trust Nagisa not to blab it to Rei or the rest of the school. His shoulders sagged. "Okay, you win," he relented. "Mieko is Haruka's son." If he told at least half the truth, it might get him off the hook.

Wishful thinking.

Nagisa turned the necklace over in his hand, the scale catching the artificial light in the room and shining brilliantly. "And what else?"

"N-nothing else." Damn his nervous stutter.

Nagisa's expression turned positively wolfish as Mieko pointed to the scale and whispered, "Aahroo."

Makoto fidgeted. "Nagisa..." Mieko crawled back into his lap, nuzzling gently at his chest and humming quietly things that may have made sense to another Sessa. Makoto wrapped his arms around the boy, forcing down the horror of anything happening to him. This was _Nagisa._ He'd never do anything to hurt Mieko, or anyone, for that matter.

_But it's not him I need to worry about._

Sensing the mood, Nagisa's smile vanished. "Just be honest with me, Makoto." His eyes softened. "You know you can tell me anything."

The words trickled slowly at first, and then very suddenly tumbled like a tidal wave over a busted dam. Makoto confessed how he'd found Haruka on the beach those three years ago, how he'd thought him injured and took him back to the apartment. How, after he'd returned Haruka to the beach, he'd met another of his kind. How Haruka gave him the tear-stone and scale in parting, and how Makoto waited all this time for him to return, even though it seemed like Haruka wanted nothing more to do with him. How he'd found Mieko on the beach, both earlier in the week and the night before.

He did not tell Nagisa about the sex. That was a little too personal, not to mention the perfect ammunition for Nagisa to blackmail him for the rest of his life. But he was sure his emotions still came through without adding that bit of information.

When Makoto was finished, panting a little from the exertion of releasing it all at once, Nagisa leaned back against the sofa. "_Wow_," he breathed.

Makoto swallowed the feeling that he'd just made a giant mistake. He could trust Nagisa; he had to trust Nagisa. "You can't tell anyone."

"I'm not sure anyone would even believe me." Uncertain of himself, Nagisa had fallen back on his cheerful and teasing persona. "It sounds crazy."

Makoto rounded on him, eyes narrowed and completely serious this time. "I mean it, Nagisa. I shouldn't have even told you. I promised I wouldn't tell anyone. It's dangerous for anyone to know about them. They'd be hunted down. Used for experiments and God knows what else." His arms tightened around Mieko, who heaved a content sigh, oblivious to the severity of the situation. "I can't let that happen."

Nagisa looked from him to Mieko, then nodded resolutely. "I won't say anything," he promised. "But, Mako-chan..." His voice trailed off, and he seemed to be searching for the right words. Makoto wanted to laugh at the idea of Nagisa, who took a sick kind of pleasure tormenting and embarrassing him day to day, suddenly trying to spare his feelings. "You know you can't keep this up, right? Mi-chan doesn't belong here, and neither does your Haruka."

"I know," Makoto said, a bit more forcefully than necessary. He sighed. "I know that. I just..."

_How can I say goodbye again?_

Offering him a smile, Nagisa clapped his shoulder. "I'll help you," he promised. "Just say the word and I'll do whatever you need me to."

"Thank you, Nagisa." Makoto wasn't exactly sure if he could ask Nagisa to do anything besides keep his mouth shut at this point, but it was nice to hear Nagisa was willing to take on such responsibility, should he ask it. "You're a good friend."

Nagisa grinned and flashed a thumb's-up. "Of course I am."

And from there, the subject dropped. Nagisa went on to talk about how Rei really enjoyed getting to know Makoto outside of the classroom, and then proceeded to divulge far more information than Makoto would have liked to know about their sex life. Apparently Rei was really studious about angles, and knew just the degree to tilt his head and exact amount of pressure to apply when - well, Makoto tuned out there, and fastidiously clamped his hands over Mieko's ears to spare the boy's innocence. Not that Mieko would know a conversation about foreplay from a nursery rhyme, but still, as current guardian Makoto felt it his duty to shelter him.

"It's not like he knows. He'll learn it all soon enough, anyways. Sea creatures are very sexual," Nagisa said, as if that justified anything.

"He's a baby."

"So? His dad is leader of the pod, from what you said. He probably has loads of sex. Mi-chan's probably already been exposed."

Even though it was obvious by this point that Haruka had moved on and probably taken another partner, Makoto did not want to think about him having sex with anyone else - especially opening himself up so intimately, as he had done for Makoto, revealing the secrets of his gender. "Can we not talk about this?"

"Oho, is someone jealous~?" Nagisa leaned over to whisper conspiratorially in Mieko's ear. "Mako-chan L-O-V-E-S your papa, Mi-chan."

"Paah," Mieko agreed.

_"...Of three shark attacks within five hours."_

The television had been playing quietly in the background since Nagisa's arrival, but that was the first snippet of the morning news to capture Makoto's attention. He held a hand up to silence Nagisa before his friend could continue on with corrupting poor Mieko, and grabbed the remote from where it rested on the floor. The reporter stood on the very beach near Makoto's apartment, by the pier, wearing a solemn expression as she spoke about the first victim of the three attacks - a sixteen-year-old swimmer who'd been training at sun-up for an upcoming competition.

_"The wound wasn't fatal, but he has been taken to Iwatobi General..."_

As the story continued into the second attack, it immediately became clear that the third would be even worse. Where the sixteen-year-old swimmer only needed a few stitches, the second victim, an elderly woman, lost a good chunk of her upper arm. The wound hadn't been deadly, but the intent had definitely been to harm.

_"As she was taken away, we heard her saying something about a tail - a red tail. Don't know of any sharks with a red tail,"_ one interviewed beachgoer said, crossing his arms anxiously.

The reporter did not go into much detail about the third victim, as it had been a young child, but she did assure her audience the child was in surgery and give hope for a swift recovery.

Makoto leaned back against the sofa, unsettled and growing even more so as the reporter turned to interview a local marine authority.

_"We have several witnesses claiming to have seen a red tail, and from what we know of the wounds the bite radius seems relatively small - especially on the first victim - to belong to any of the species of sharks we're used to finding in our waters. Do you think it's possible that a new species has migrated to us, and what the reason for that might be?"_

Of course the authorities had no helpful information to offer. Whatever concerns they may have had were swept under the rug as the uniformed man assured the reporter and audience that, while the attacks were unusual, especially considering the time of year, Iwatobi had nothing to worry about.

_"Precautions are being made in the form of more shark nets, and more patrols at night. If there is a new species infesting the water - and I highly doubt it - it will be brought to the surface in no time."_

The sick feeling in the pit of Makoto's stomach rose up to his throat.

He knew exactly who caused those attacts, and for what reason.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Lawli:** How do people write happy stories? It just doesn't work for me. Enjoy and leave a comment if you're feeling generous._

_**Warnings**: none for this chapter_

* * *

"So, what's the plan?" Nagisa asked conversationally, after Makoto finished settling Mieko in the bedroom for a nap. He remained where Makoto left him on the sofa, only now his legs were tucked up under his body and he leaned precariously over the edge like an overanxious child on his first rollercoaster.

"What are you talking about?"

Nagisa made a show of rolling his eyes. "The plan," he repeated. "To get Mieko back to the ocean, and reunite with your one true love?"

Makoto blushed and averted his gaze. He honestly hadn't given much thought to it. Initially he figured he would just return Mieko to the beach the same way he'd done with Haruka, in the middle of the night when they weren't likely to be interrupted. Now, thanks to the news of shark attacks, things weren't so simple. There would be news teams and patrols on the beach to worry about, not to mention meddling civilians hoping to either get their fifteen seconds of fame standing behind a reporter.

As for reuniting with Haruka… Well, there wasn't even a point to thinking about that. Haruka made his feelings – or lack thereof - perfectly clear, and pining wouldn't change anything. All Makoto could do was return Mieko to where he belonged and go about his life as before: trying ineffectually to keep all thoughts of the Sessa from his mind. Now that he had a definite answer about his and Haruka's relationship, maybe there was a chance he could actually move on.

"It's going to be hard to get him to the beach unnoticed," he said, reclining on the sofa with his arms behind his head. "I could bring him to another beach, but what if they're not looking for him there?"

"You think they're looking for him? Isn't it usually after a certain age, animals abandon their young?"

That may have been true for other species, but not the Sessa – at least, not for Haruka. The worry in Haruka's eyes the first time he found Mieko on the beach spoke of how precious Haruka's son was to him. Makoto shook his head. "They're definitely looking. Or Rin is, at the very least."

Nagisa screwed up his face as he tried to recall the bits and pieces of the story Makoto relayed to him earlier. "Rin was... Haruka's other mate?" He waited for confirmation, and then whistled lowly. "You've gotten yourself into quite the mess, haven't you?"

Makoto groaned. "Don't remind me." Rin and Haruka's relationship was the least of his concerns. Actually, considering his and Haruka's future prospects, it shouldn't be a concern at all. What mattered was getting Mieko back to his father. "I think it was Rin who attacked those people. The last two, at least." Having been a victim of Rin's teeth himself, Makoto had been able to tell the subtle differences between the pictures the news showed of the first bite to the wound Rin inflicted on his own leg three years ago. The first bite was smaller in circumference, and the teeth themselves left tinier imprints. "The first might have been Haru."

Nagisa gasped. "Makoto likes rough partners." He smirked, and Makoto wondered how all their conversations led back to such topics. "Who would have guessed?"

Makoto couldn't even refute the comment, because at one point in their lovemaking, he remembered, Haruka _had _bitten him – and he'd liked it very much. Not that Nagisa needed to know that.

"You're missing the point," he said.

Nagisa giggled. "I think _you're_ missing a point as well, and that point belongs to someone's _paah_." He pitched his voice higher on the last word to mimic Mieko's voice, and the color drained from Makoto's face.

"Please don't talk like that." It was disturbing enough that even at his height Nagisa could impersonate a child, but to intentionally try to sound like Haruka's child, who slept innocently in the next room, brought it to an entirely new level.

As if sensing he'd crossed a line, Nagisa held his hands up apologetically. "Sorry. Forgot what a sheltering father you were."

"He's not my—" Makoto huffed, frustrated, and ran a hand through his hair. He needed to calm down. "He's not my son. That's impossible."

"Oh, come on. I know you haven't owned up to it, but you and Haruka definitely did the nasty. You wouldn't feel so strongly about him if you hadn't."

Makoto chose not to comment on that. If he blatantly admitted to having sex with Haruka, Nagisa would never let it go. Not to mention it would spark a curious round of questions Makoto barely had answers to himself, and wouldn't want to divulge even if he did. What happened between him and Haruka was special, and he didn't want to tarnish the memory by sharing it with anyone, not even his best friend.

Physical impossibilities aside, there was another reason Makoto just couldn't accept being the father of Haruka's child. "He wouldn't have kept that from me."

Nagisa's expression softened, the teasing smile fading from his lips. He placed a hand on Makoto's shoulder. "Maybe he couldn't tell you," he said. "Maybe someone wouldn't let him."

Makoto thought of the way Haruka reacted when Rin said Haruka shouldn't swim in too shallow of water, and immediately dismissed the idea. Even if Rin and Haruka were close, no one made Haruka do something he didn't want to do. "It would have been his own choice."

"Then I'm sure he had a reason for it."

"It was easier for everyone to keep me in the dark," Makoto said, frowning. "I would have wanted to see him – to be there for him, and how could I?" It was too complicated, too heartbreaking, the thought that he had a family he could never be a part of. But it also made some things make sense, such as Mieko's draw to the shore, and to Makoto himself. It also explained Haruka's distance; if he wanted to keep Mieko from meeting him, he would have to stay away himself.

_He didn't want Mieko leaving him. Choosing me. He didn't want either of us to know. _

Makoto could understand that, because in the same way he selfishly wished he could keep Haruka – and now Mieko, if he truly was his son – with him forever. But understanding did little to ease the heavy weight on his heart. Three years... three years he'd potentially had a son, and if not for Mieko's inherited stubbornness Makoto might have gone the rest of his life without knowing.

He wouldn't believe it until he heard the truth from Haruka's lips.

"We should go shopping!"

Makoto blinked at the sudden change of topic. "What?"

"Shopping," Nagisa said, as if that was the most obvious thing they should be doing. At the dubious look Makoto sent him, he motioned towards the bedroom. "Mieko can't wear your big shirts all day long. And unless you feel spending all your time doing laundry, we should probably get him some diapers or something. They make diapers for his size, right?"

Makoto shrugged helplessly. "He's not staying, so what does it matter?"

"Well, it will make it a lot less conspicuous to carry him around in clothes that fit him."

In the end Makoto couldn't argue against that logic, and a little over an hour later they were traversing the aisles of a department store, probably the oddest-looking 'family' to ever set foot inside. Already their situation had been misinterpreted by two sales associates – one who assumed Mieko was Makoto's younger sibling, and another who congratulated them on adopting and told them in a hushed whisper she fiercely supported gay rights.

Nagisa, although happily in favor of pretending to be a couple, had been able to easily dispel the awkward comments with a laugh. "We're not together," he told the woman. "Mi-chan is his. I'm just being a good friend and helping him shop, because Mako-chan is hopeless."

The first order of business was diapers, which they were able to find in an appropriate size. Getting them on Mieko was another matter entirely. Having had a fins his entire life, Mieko obviously wasn't accustomed to having his body restricted in any way, and he fought Makoto the entire time – kicking his legs and screaming in protest, making Makoto very glad he'd decided to change him in the bathroom where at least there was a semblance of privacy.

Luckily, Makoto had training in this department. His little sister Ran had gone through a stage in her Terrible Twos where she obstinately refused to wear clothes. Dressing her in the morning had been a test on both his physical and mental capabilities, and actually seeing she stayed dressed a near impossibility. With that experience under his belt, he was able to expertly pin Mieko's ankles with one hand and finagle the diaper under his wiggling bottom with the other.

"Almost done," he cooed, taping up the sides of the diaper one-handed. "Good job, Mieko. See?" He picked Mieko up and stood him on shaky feet. The toddler sniveled and squirmed and almost wrenched himself out of Makoto's arms. "Now you just need some clothes on and we'll be ready to go. Hopefully Nagisa's picked something out by now."

Indeed, Nagisa had amassed an entire shopping cart's worth of clothes, from onesies and sleepers to bathing suits with matching sunhats. Certainly far more than necessary for the one or two nights max that Mieko would stay in Makoto's custody.

"I think it's a bit much," Makoto admitted, returning a formal blue button-up to the appropriate rack.

Nagisa deflated, jutting out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. "But Mako-chan, you never know what might happen. It could come in handy."

"I really don't think he'll need a suit."

With a sigh, Nagisa relented.

Makoto settled on a pair of blue-and-green striped swim trunks, which were easy enough to slide up Mieko's legs while Nagisa held the child up by the armpits.

Mieko whined in protest, calling out, "paah! Aaroo paah!"

"We'll see Haru later," Makoto promised, before pulling the matching blue shirt down over Mieko's head. Mieko wasn't thrilled with the momentary darkness and attempted to whistle and free his arms, but succeeded in wrestling the shirt on.

"Aw, look at the little whale and dolphin," Nagisa gushed, pointing at the cartoon characters on the front of the shirt.

"It is pretty cute," Makoto agreed, hoisting Mieko back into his arms. "I thought Haru was a dolphin when I first saw him." Mieko tilted his head to the side, and as usual to hold his attention and keep him calm, Makoto presented him with the necklace. He clipped it around Mieko's thin neck.

"Guess that makes you the whale, then," Nagisa said, indicating the cartoon orca on Mieko's shirt.

Makoto blushed, and grabbed another two outfits from the cart to bring with him just in case. That plus the diapers should be enough to take care of Mieko. "Oh, a bottle," he remembered as they neared the checkout.

Nagisa raised an eyebrow. "Isn't he a bit old for a bottle?"

"He's had a bit of a hard time with normal cups. It'll probably be easier to feed him from what he's more used to."

Once he added a box set of two bottles to his cart, he proceeded to the checkout. A different saleswoman from the two they'd met earlier rung up the items, enthusing all the while over Mieko's outfit and how nice it was to see a stay-at-home father for once.

"He's got your eyes, daddy." She winked at him. "Pretty blue, though. That must be his mother's."

Makoto didn't have the energy to correct her.

As soon as they were out of the store, Nagisa carrying the bags while Makoto carried Mieko, Nagisa piped up. "I've actually been wondering about that."

They turned out of the shopping plaza and began the trek back to Makoto's apartment. "About what?"

Nagisa chewed on his lip, taking his time in choosing his phrasing. "If you're really Mi-chan's father, that would make Haru-chan the mother."

"And...?" Makoto's voice trailed off as he waited for the inevitable continuation.

"Well, from what you've told me, Haru-chan isn't female. So how does that work?" Nagisa turned sly magenta eyes on him. "I have a feeling you haven't been entirely truthful with me."

They stopped at a traffic light and Makoto purposefully avoided his friend's gaze. "I don't know. I told you it was impossible."

That was something that hadn't occurred to him, but then the secrets of Haruka's gender wasn't anything he'd been able to figure out even after three years. Maybe Haruka could carry a child, even while still physically appearing male.

"Nagisa," he said, when the blonde opened his mouth to goad him further. "If you don't mind, I'd really rather not talk about it. Let's just focus on getting Mieko home."

Nagisa cast a sympathetic look to him and ruffled Mieko's hair. "Okay."

At Nagisa's prompting, they took the long way back to the apartment in order to scope out the situation at the beach. There were still a few news crews loitering by the water, but not much reporting happening, and despite the beach being fenced off there was a multitude of bystanders.

Mieko's attention shifted automatically to the water. Makoto had been afraid that being so close to the beach might trigger a violent response in the child – that Mieko might start crying for Haruka or try to get out of Makoto's arms to get back to the water. Aside from stretching a hand out towards the waves, however, Mieko was still, not even lifting his head from where it rested on Makoto's shoulder.

"Aaroo..."

Makoto patted Mieko's back soothingly. "You'll see him soon," he said. "I promise."

' ' '

"I have a plan!"

Makoto shouldered his phone against his ear so he could towel Mieko off. Despite curiosity about the shore, love of water was obviously something that could not be taken from a Sessa. Not long after Nagisa left that afternoon Mieko had wanted right back in the bath, and he'd stayed there for an hour at least, not minding even when the water cooled and his skin began to prune. Now he was starting to get fussy, probably hungry.

"Let's hear it," he said. Putting a fresh diaper while keeping hold of the phone was a challenge, but Makoto managed, and he decided a diaper was sufficient for now. Mieko seemed happy enough to forego a shirt.

"Okay, okay. So. I'm thinking you should try and rendezvous with Haru-chan. Tell him about the situation and why it's not safe for you to bring Mi-chan back yet. Then you'll wait a few days, until the excitement of the shark attacks dies down, and you can bring Mi-chan back."

"I'm beginning to think you just want an excuse to keep Mieko here longer." Makoto watched Mieko toddle down the hall, supporting himself up by holding on to the wall. He smiled affectionately at the boy. Honestly, he wouldn't mind Mieko staying longer, but he couldn't worry Haruka and Rin like that. "If I'm taking the chance going to see Haruka, there's no reason I shouldn't bring Mieko with me. Either way it's a risk."

"But would you really want to risk Mi-chan?"

Makoto knew the answer already. _No. _Haruka was an adult; he knowingly took a risk every time he breached the surface, and he had ways to defend himself. Mieko did not, and if he was ever captured not only would Haruka never forgive him, but Makoto would never be able to live with himself.

"So I'll come over around ten." He could practically hear the smile in Nagisa's voice. "Mi-chan should be asleep, but you need someone to watch over him in case anything happens."

Makoto followed closely behind Mieko until they reached the small kitchen/living room. He picked Mieko up and dumped him on the sofa. "I guess I'll see you then." There was no point in arguing, and he supposed Nagisa's idea had some good points. It allowed him the chance to see Haruka, at any rate. Not that anything could really come of it, considering the circumstances.

After hanging up with Nagisa, he flicked on the television to the children's network and then busied himself with preparing a bottle. The bottles had definitely been a wise purchase. Not only did they equal less spilling, but Mieko really seemed comforted by them. Makoto had to wonder what it meant. If Nagisa's suspicions were true and Makoto truly was Mieko's father, then that meant Haruka had birthed him. And how could Mieko nurse from Haruka?

He sat on one end of the sofa and watched Mieko suck from the bottle some ten minutes later. Mieko's blue eyes were closed and he rolled onto his back, holding the bottle with one hand and lazily playing with the teardrop necklace with the other.

_It doesn't make any sense. _

But really, what did make sense about any of this? Since Haruka first appeared in his life, nothing had made very much sense.

' ' '

True to his word, Nagisa showed up exactly at ten. With Mieko fast asleep there wasn't anything to keep Makoto from saying a quick farewell and slipping out of the apartment building – though, just as he'd feared, getting to the beach proved more difficult than usual. Thanks to Rin and the mistaken shark attacks, a police barricade, manned by several officers who clearly wished they were elsewhere, had been constructed to keep away night swimmers.

Makoto didn't even bother trying to get past them. Instead, he followed the barricade from a safe distance away where hopefully the officers wouldn't notice him – they looked to be in conversation, so that was lucky – for roughly a mile, until his usual spot by the pier and the site of the attacks were well behind him. This section of the beach wasn't guarded as far as he could see, and nothing came along to impede his path down to the water.

The Sessa had a keen sense of smell. Makoto didn't know just how keen, but he did hope the water might carry whatever sort of natural scent they distinguished as human and bring one of them to him. He didn't wander too far out, just in case an unfamiliar Sessa appeared and picked up where Rin left off with his last victim.

He walked aimlessly through the waist-deep water, a light current fighting against his progression, as his eyes roamed choppy bay. There were no immediate signs of any Sessa nearby, something that both worried and relieved Makoto. On one hand it meant that Haruka and Rin knew something of the situation, and how it would be hazardous to venture too close to shore now more than ever; but on the other hand, Makoto could not bring himself to return Mieko to the ocean without knowing if any of his kind would even be there to receive him. He could not abandon a child to the sea – especially not Haruka's child.

There was nothing to do but wait. Having already walked so far, and after having taken care of a human/mermaid child all day, he was tired, and so tromped back up to shallower water to heavily sit. The tide lapped up over him, and he was thankful he'd actually remembered to put swim trunks on before leaving the house.

"Haruka," he called softly. The reflection of the moon winked at him from the water, playing tricks on his eyes. In each shimmer of the waves he thought he spied a fin, in every white cap the graceful arc of Haruka's arm breaking the surface. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I need your help. Mieko... I don't know what to do with him." He frowned. "I can't take care of him like you can."

In the distance, he noticed a dark shape moving rapidly – most likely a coast guard's boat.

"I know you want nothing to do with me, but please. For him..."

His voice trailed off. It wasn't just for Mieko and he knew it. He wanted to see Haruka because _he _missed him, because Haruka had promised him that soon they would meet again.

He was selfish. Pathetic. No wonder Haruka kept his distance.

Something slapped against his leg, slippery and cool, and the next thing Makoto knew he was being roughly seized by the arms and thrown backwards. He sputtered, saltwater rushing into his mouth and choking him. A weight settled over his stomach, threatening to push him down. All of Makoto's old fears came rushing to the forefront of his mind, paralyzing him.

"Stop," he managed to get out between violent coughs. "Please— _Haruka_!"

"You!"

Sharp nails dug into his biceps and hauled Makoto back up. Once Makoto's vision adjusted he recognized the wide maroon eyes and the lips pulled back in a truly impressive snarl. "Rin," he breathed in relief.

Rin did not appear pleased with their reunion. "I should have known you would take him. Humans are all the same – thieves, the whole species."

Makoto didn't fight his rage, barely even lifted a finger to detach the claw-like fingers from his arms. "Rin – Rin calm down!"

"Not until you bring him back," Rin shouted.

"I can't." At his distressed tone, Rin eased up on his grip. Makoto tried to explain everything that happened, how he found Mieko on the beach and the way the entire town was up in arms about the supposed shark attacks. "I couldn't just bring him back to the beach, not with all the news crews. What if someone spotted him changing? And I didn't know if you or Haruka would be here. I couldn't leave him alone."

"You shouldn't have taken him from here to begin with," Rin pointed out.

Guilt stung Makoto. "I didn't know what else to do."

"That's the same excuse you used with Haru, and it's just as stupid now as it was then. You should just leave us alone!"

Cheeks burning with shame, Makoto hung his head. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Haru's beside himself. This is what he's been afraid of since—" Rin cut off unexpectedly, and Makoto had the feeling that, as a human, he was not worthy of hearing the rest.

"Since what?"

Rin clenched his jaw, eyes narrowing. "Listen, human. Haru may have... _claimed_ you, but that doesn't make you one of us."

"I never said I was."

"Then don't act like I need to tell you anything."

Makoto shook his head. "I just want to know if Haruka's okay. If he... if he doesn't want anything to do with me, that's fine. But he acted so strange with me, and I just want to know why."

"If only he wanted nothing to do with you," Rin scoffed, and Makoto's expression brightened.

"He doesn't hate me, then?"

Rin crossed his arms over his chest. "I told you already that Haru's choosy about his mates. You think he would discard someone he thought worthy, so quickly? You think he's that fickle?"

Makoto raised his hands in submission. "I didn't mean it like that." The last thing he wanted to deal with was an angry Rin. At the mere idea, his leg throbbed with the memory of sharp teeth tearing into flesh. "I just—he disappeared for so long. And then he was so distant."

"Listen." Rin swam up close so that their chests nearly brushed, his maroon eyes boring into Makoto. Makoto swallowed audibly but could not look away. While not nearly as entrancing, Rin's eyes seemed to share Haruka's ability to captivate their audience entirely. "Our species shouldn't mix. Haru knew that, but he chose you anyways. There are some – a lot of the pod doesn't like it. Think it's bad luck, especially since—" He cut off again.

Tentatively, Makoto laid a hand on Rin's shoulder. "Since what?"

Rin shrugged his arm away. "Haru is Sessmalla. They are supposed to be healthy and strong, models of our kind. Haru is... strong, in his way, but he has never been very healthy."

Fear pricked at Makoto's heart. "Is he sick?"

"Not him," Rin began, sounding reluctant. He cast his eyes to the open sea. "His children."

Makoto thought of Mieko, peacefully sleeping miles away. The boy hadn't seemed ill, but that did Makoto know of it? Despite appearing human, there was no denying where Mieko came from. If he did have some kind of disease known only among the Sessa, Makoto would never be able to tell.

"None of Haru's children have made it to term," Rin continued. "The children he's sired are weak and die before they're even weaned from their mothers. The night that you found him..."

Makoto had been trying to wrap his mind around the idea of Haruka already being a parent when the memory came rushing back: Haruka lying so still on the rock, covered in blood – so much blood. A cold weight settled over Makoto. "Don't tell me he—"

"It was young. Barely formed inside of him."

Rin's voice was strained, eyes tight, and Makoto instantly knew all the words Rin did not say. "It was yours." If anything happened to his siblings he was sure his world would fall apart. He couldn't even imagine losing a child.

_But if Mieko really is mine, I will lose him._ Lose him to the ocean, or to whatever disease might have already claimed him.

Makoto curled his hands into fists. "I'm so sorry, Rin. I had no idea."

Rin tried to glare, but the expression fell short of intimidating. "It was young," he said again, as if that made the loss any less painful. "Haru had barely even gained weight yet."

"It was still your child."

A darkness passed over Rin's eyes – shadows of the past that he probably never dealt with properly. Rin seemed the sort of man to bottle the more painful emotions. Makoto wished he knew how to comfort him, but in this case he did not think there was anything that could be said or done to ease that suffering.

Rin's eyes hardened, the memory shoved away to the dark recesses of his mind to haunt him another day. "It's not important now. Haru has a child, his first child, and that is what matters. But of course Mieko has the same stubborn will as Haru, and of course that will leads him to the only place Haru can't follow. Mieko has the surface in him and it's the surface he yearns for."

Makoto frowned. "The surface? I don't understand."

"You are thick, aren't you?" Rin sneered. When Makoto said nothing, he gestured emphatically. "Mieko is yours. A risk that has never been taken before, a child of land and sea, and Haru loves him more than anything."

It was something he'd suspected – a possibility Nagisa had been drilling into his head all day – but hearing the words from Rin's mouth seemed to finalize it, and the truth hit Makoto with the force of a speeding vehicle. Makoto swayed on his feet, feeling his knees might give out on him at any moment.

_He's mine. Mieko is my son. Haru and I have a child._

And yet, one of them was doomed to lose him forever.

"You're a kind human," Rin said, "kinder than most. But I won't let Haru say goodbye to another child."

Makoto nodded, feeling cold and hollow. He wished Haruka were there. "What should I do, Rin?"

Rin did not spare his feelings as he told him honestly, "bring Mieko back tomorrow night. And then let them go – both of them."

It was the right thing to do; Makoto knew that.

But that didn't make it any easier.

When he returned to his apartment, he ignored Nagisa's badgering. Nagisa wanted to hear all about it, if he'd met Haruka and if he'd had any trouble with the patrols set up. Makoto thanked him quietly for watching the house in his absence, and disappeared into his bedroom. Not long afterwards he heard the apartment door opening and closing, but he couldn't bring himself to feel guilty for not saying goodbye.

He curled up on the bed, wrapped his arms around Mieko, and tried not to cry for the son he had barely started to know.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Lawli:** Hey everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas, if you celebrated it. If not then I hope you had a spectacular day anyways. ^_^ Sorry this chapter is a bit late, was too busy with all the festivities going on._

_If you haven't seen, I posted a companion fic to this story titled "Sessmalla" that focuses on Rin and Haruka's story - how they met, and their lives before Haruka met Makoto. Check it out if you're curious about their history._

_Have a happy new year, see you in 2014!_

_**Warnings**: none for this chapter_

* * *

"I don't see why you have to say goodbye forever," Nagisa complained.

Makoto had calmed down enough to relay his conversation with Rin when Nagisa called bright and early – by his standards, which meant around ten-o-clock – the next day. Already Makoto had been up for several hours, because the universal rule of thumb for all toddlers no matter the species seemed to be that the first rays of sunlight meant playtime.

"He's your son just as much as Haru-chan's. You deserve to have a relationship with him"

Makoto shook his head, rubbed a nagging remnant of morning gunk from his eyes. "Believe me, I want nothing more than that. And I'm sure Haruka does too, but... It's dangerous. I'd be an idiot not to realize that. And knowing that, to insist on seeing him anyways… that's just selfishness."

"But Mi-chan doesn't even want to stay with him," Nagisa pressed.

"You don't know that. He's barely three years old. He needs his mo—" Makoto stopped. It still felt strange to refer to Haruka as a mother. "He needs Haruka. And he misses him. I can't take that necklace away for ten minutes before he starts panicking."

A puff of air sounded from over the line. "But he kept going to the shore. He was obviously looking for something, and that something had to be you."

Makoto mentally closed off his ears to any further argument Nagisa might rattle off. He appreciated his friend's support, truly, but he couldn't let himself fall victim to false hope. Accepting that he had to return Mieko and thus forever part ways with him and Haruka had been nearly impossible the first time, and thinking about it still brought fresh tears to his eyes. If he built up his hopes only to have them bitterly knocked down again, Makoto did not think he'd be able to live through it.

"It's okay, Nagisa," he said, voice soft. Mieko sucked away at a bottle of warm milk, head tucked against the crook of Makoto's arm. Makoto sifted a hand through his silky black hair ignored the stinging mist that threatened to cloud his vision. "I'll be fine. I'm lucky to have met him."

The bottle's nipple popped out of Mieko's mouth and he stared up at Makoto with a strange expression, almost as if he could understand the wave of emotion looming over him. He reached up with one stubby arm, traces of iridescence which Makoto could faintly make out beneath the pinkish human skin if he looked for it, and brushed Makoto's jaw with his fingers. Makoto gasped. He murmured something, likely a Sessa word, which Makoto had never heard before. Makoto bit his lip.

"Do you think Rei-chan might be able to help? He's been super interested in figuring out the attacks."

"No," Makoto said, probably with more force than necessary. He liked Rei, and he thought he and Nagisa made a sweet couple, but he couldn't chance anyone else finding out about the Sessa. Telling Nagisa had been a big enough risk. And especially since Rei was already interested in this case, telling him was not the best plan.

"Are you sure? He's got his doctorate, maybe he knows some special marine biologist secrets."

"I appreciate it, Nagisa, but I really don't want anyone else knowing about Mieko. It's too dangerous." Makoto sat through a moment of poignant silence. "I can hear you sulking over the phone, stop it."

"If you're sure..." Nagisa heaved a sigh. "Let me know what I can do, at least. I've already called off rehearsal."

"Nagisa, you didn't have to do that," Makoto chastised. "I don't want you getting cut from the show."

He could envision Nagisa waving a hand in that carefree way of his. "Don't worry, don't worry. I already told you I'm going to see this through till the end. Hazuki Nagisa never breaks a promise!"

Makoto politely refrained from pointing out all the times when the exact opposite held true. "I'm thinking I'll bring him tonight, to the beach where I met with Rin. If he shows up again, he should be all the protection Mieko needs to avoid any of the boat patrols."

"Can I at least come over to say goodbye?"

Some part of Makoto wanted to selfishly keep Mieko to himself for the precious hours he had left, but he couldn't forget the help Nagisa had been to him throughout the tumultuous past few days and also the years since his first meeting Haruka. It was only right Nagisa received the chance to say goodbye properly.

Nagisa cheered on the other end of the phone. "I'll be there soon," he promised, and not even a full second later the dial tone sounded in Makoto's ear.

Makoto shook his head, lips quirked in a wry smile.

As it turned out, 'soon' actually meant three hours. The time allowed Mieko a generous playtime in the bathtub, and a chance for Makoto to work on the boy's walking skills. By the time the doorbell rang, Makoto could stand at one end of the living/dining area and Mieko could make his wobbly way to him from the opposite side of the room.

"I think you're missing your calling," Nagisa said, having let himself in to the sight of a proud Makoto lifting Mieko off the floor and twirling him in the air while gushing proudly about what a fast learner he was. "You should work with kids. Or maybe you're just meant to be a stay at home daddy."

Makoto carefully settled Mieko back down on his feet. Mieko swayed a little bit, and then grasped the corner of the low table to balance himself upright.

"You need to find a pretty girl and then just start having babies. There's a few girls in the theatre department you'd think are cute. One of them is so short, she'd come up to your chest – oh, you two would be adorable together!"

"Nagisa." Makoto forced his voice out from a tightened throat. "If it's all the same to you, I really don't want to talk about this right now." He didn't want to think about dating again for a long time, at least not until he'd finished school. Right now he would only compare everyone to Haruka, and no matter how cute or beautiful, no girl Nagisa introduced him to could ever fill the emptiness in his heart from losing hi son.

Nagisa scratched the back of his neck, genuinely apologetic. "Right. I didn't mean to..."

"I know." Makoto smiled gently, but it did not quite reach his eyes. Nagisa tended to speak without thinking, but he wasn't an insensitive person, and usually he meant well.

Mieko bounced on his feet between them, reaching out for the remote control that rested on the other corner of the table.

Nagisa crouched down next to him. "I have something for you, Mi-chan." Nagisa pulled a small plastic bag out from his back pocket, and Mieko's blue eyes automatically lit up. "You're always after Mako-chan's necklace, but that's a precious gift from Haru-chan. You won't be able to take it with you." Mieko tilted his head curiously as Nagisa revealed the present: a simple rope necklace with a square peridot stone at the center. "You can take this one instead. The color reminded me a bit of Mako-chan's eyes, so you can think of him whenever you look at it."

He draped the necklace around Mieko's neck, Mieko automatically reaching for the stone and examining it with interest. Makoto felt tears stinging his eyes and had to look away.

"You didn't have to do that."

Nagisa laughed. "I know. I wanted to, for Mi-chan."

Makoto fidgeted. "Was it expensive?" He'd have to pay Nagisa back somehow. Mieko wasn't related to him; he shouldn't have spent that kind of money on him.

Nagisa rolled his eyes. "Nothing's too much for Mako-chan's only son. In fact..." He pulled another necklace from the bag, the same cut and style as Mieko's only with a tanzanite– identical to the iridescence of Mieko's tail, if Makoto remembered correctly.

"I can't accept this," Makoto said, holding his hands up in protest.

"Too late!" Nagisa pulled Makoto down by the collar of his shirt and fastened the necklace about his neck.

"It's too much, I can't—"

Nagisa slapped his cheek playfully. "Mako-chan, it's the least you deserve. And this way-" he paused to adjust the necklaces – the tanzanite and the crystal from Haruka – side by side- "you can carry both of them next to your heart."

Makoto didn't know what to say. His heart swelled with immeasurable gratitude and affection the magnitude he'd never felt for his best friend before. He threw his arms around Nagisa in a crushing hug, hiding his tears in the fluffy blond hair. "You really are the greatest friend."

For once, Nagisa didn't have an overly chipper or smug reply. He simply wrapped his arms around Makoto's shoulders and let him cry.

' ' '

Makoto had a bad feeling. Just a bothersome roiling in the pit of his stomach, not overpowering enough to make him completely change his mind, but with presence enough for him to question every decision he'd made since meeting Haruka and embarking on the slow and excruciating journey to inevitable heartbreak.

It was late and he'd wasted many opportunities to talk himself out of what needed to be done – though he'd very nearly succeeded on several occasions, not thanks to Nagisa's constant whining about unfairness, but because of Mieko himself. The same love that wanted to see Mieko safely returned to his home in the ocean with Haruka and the rest of his kind also ate away at Makoto like a particularly corrosive poison, making him yearn for nothing more than to take the child and flee from this place – maybe return to his hometown or go somewhere else entirely and start fresh.

Either way, he did not think he would ever truly be happy. Losing Mieko would be losing a part of himself, but keeping him was a betrayal Makoto knew himself incapable of. Especially considering how much Haruka had lost already...

Rin only specifically mentioned his, but he'd alluded to others. Babies that had come into the world and felt the warmth of the sun on their faces, who Haruka had probably held and even played with, kissed the tops of their little heads and put them to sleep at night with a heart nearly bursting with love and pride. Having to let go of Mieko felt akin to cutting his own heart out, but at least Makoto knew Mieko was alive and would be with family who loved and would protect him. Haruka's children were gone from him permanently. Makoto honestly did not know how Haruka remained so strong.

Haruka deserved this happiness. And, Makoto had to grudgingly acknowledge, so did Rin. He loathed the idea of another man taking his place as Mieko's father, but Rin was a good man, and he wanted what was best for Mieko and Haruka just as much – if not more – than Makoto. Not only that, but Rin was capable of providing the best life for them, ensuring their health and survival in a way Makoto could never hope to.

Mieko did not panic at the sight of the beach. He stiffened and held a bit more tightly to Makoto's shirt, but even when Makoto carried him across the sand he stayed perfectly calm.

It was not the best night for stealth. While still dark, the full moon coupled with the clear sky offered little cloak of shadows to hide their path. Makoto wished he could postpone the rendezvous with Rin for that reason alone. Nothing about the circumstances settled right. The most he could hope for was for Rin to appear soon, so Makoto could pass Mieko off to him without a fuss and be on his way before he turned into an emotional wreck – all of that without being heard or spotted. Part of him also wanted to see Haruka one final time, but the larger, more rational side of his brain understood it would be for the best if that didn't happen.

"We have to say goodbye soon," Makoto whispered, fighting to keep his voice from wavering. He shifted Mieko in his arms to get a better look at him, memorize his features – an odd mixture of his and Haruka's faces, now that he knew what to look for – one last time. "I'm so glad I got to meet you. I don't know if you understand, or of you'll remember that, but I..."

He stopped, held the boy a little tighter. Pressed his forehead to Mieko's and wished desperately that they lived in a different world, a different time. Maybe a world where Haruka was a human woman and they could have been a normal human family. A world where he could have watched Mieko grow up and become a man, and get married and have children of his own. Summer camping trips, little league, holidays and lazy days and so many things that could have been but could never be.

He couldn't cry.

"You have a father who loves you very much. You didn't know that before, I don't think, but... but now I hope you do."

A small hand touched his think, and Makoto thought he may already have been crying. He didn't want to, but just as everything else in his life the past three years, it was out of his hands.

"Paa, paa, paa," Mieko soothed, gently patting Makoto's cheek.

Makoto gave a watery smile and kissed his hand. "Your papa will always love you, Mieko. And Haruka too. No matter how much time passes, I'll never stop loving either of you."

"What kind of life will that be?"

Makoto's breath caught in his throat at the achingly familiar voice. His Japanese had improved greatly. Makoto wondered if he'd been working on learning the language from Rin. Though he honestly couldn't imagine Rin happily going along with that particular whim, Rin had a certain weakness when it came to Haruka – a weakness Makoto himself was not immune to.

He almost didn't want to look.

_Save yourself the pain. Don't make this harder than it has to be._

But of course he turned, and his knees nearly buckled at the sight of Haruka not even ten feet away, his dark head and the pale silver column of his throat the only things visible above the water. Makoto yearned for all of him, for reasons purely selfish and inappropriate while he held their child in his arms.

"Haruka..." He breathed the name like a prayer, a sacred, fragile thing that should only be spoken in reverence.

Haruka turned his head to the side, and there was distance in his eyes. He was closed off to Makoto, as well he should be. Both of them knew this could never work. Both of them knew this was the end. "I came for Mieko."

Makoto nodded, numb. He waded out a little further into the waves. "He's... he's wonderful, Haruka. Smart and kind, and beautiful... he's wonderful."

Haruka accepted the compliment with a curt, "thank you." Then he hesitated, eyes softening a fraction. When he spoke next it was in a whisper so soft Makoto almost missed it over the crash of the waves. "He reminds me of Makoto."

Biting his lip, Makoto hugged Mieko to him again. It was time to go. The longer he lingered, the harder it was to part. He moved slowly deeper into the water, and as he did so he noticed Mieko begin to squirm against his hold. In hushed tones he reassured the child, saying he would be with 'Aaroo' now, and that everything would be fine.

Mieko's panic only increased, however, and when barely three feet separated them from Haruka, Mieko shrieked.

"No! No Aaroo – paa! _Paah_!"

"Mieko! Mieko, shh, it's all right," Makoto cooed, struggled to control the boy now crashing in his arms. "We're here. We're both here for you. Haruka—"

He reached out, but Haruka had already moved, swimming up to Makoto's side and placing his webbed hands on Mieko's cheeks. A low, gentle song escaped Haruka's lips, the barrier of foreign language unable to mask the unmistakable sound of a mother's lullaby.

Makoto trembled, a vision of the three of them entering his mind: Haruka holding Mieko in a rocking chair, singing him sweetly to sleep while Makoto himself watched from the doorway, eyes soft with affection. When Mieko was tucked in bed, Makoto would take Haruka in his arms, pin him up against the doorjamb and kiss him deeply. Haruka would be human, soft and plaint under Makoto's hands, and making love in the privacy of their own room would be just the perfect ending to a perfectly normal day.

Another life, another time, another happiness stolen from them.

Makoto leaned closer to Haruka, nudged his shoulder. Haruka's eyes widened. Before he could pull away, Makoto kissed his temple.

Haruka's fingers twitched against Mieko's cheeks, his song faltering only momentarily. When it picked up again they moved to lower Mieko into the water.

He screamed.

Though he'd somewhat been expecting it, Makoto still flinched, the pained sound shaking him to his core and threatening to tear him apart as well. The miraculous transformation that had occurred seemed to be reversing, Mieko's legs fusing together, the bones rearranging themselves back into their original state. Makoto would have given anything to take his place, to spare him of that pain, but as it was he could only look on, aghast.

"Another attack!"

"This way – it came from over here!"

Before Makoto could even process what was happening, searchlights lit up the beach and water just to the right of them. Makoto's heart leapt into his throat. Haruka's eyes left Mieko's tortured face for the briefest of moments to sweep over Makoto in a silent plea for help. Makoto opened his mouth, then shut it tightly. There was nothing they could do, not with Mieko in the midst of changing.

Blue eyes narrowed to slits, darting around the area, landing on the approaching searchlights. In the distance Makoto picked up the sound of motors – the patrol boats were on their way.

"You have to go," Makoto insisted. "Take him and swim. Just go."

Haruka shook his head quickly, brought a hand to his throat. He stroked the skin there. "Air," he said.

Just as he'd feared. Mieko still had lungs; he couldn't yet breathe beneath the surface.

A shrill whistle pierced the air. Rin's calling sound.

The Kallotom must have been hiding somewhere close by, for he surfaced within moments, jaw set and shoulders pulled back, muscles rippling in full-on hunting mode.

Haruka passed him Mieko, who cried and jerked unnaturally. Webbing sprouted between his fingers, joining the digits together. Rin hesitated but took the boy in his arms. He looked to Makoto, but Makoto only focused on his son and approaching searchlights.

He hadn't been watching the beach.

Someone grabbed him roughly by the shoulder.

"Are you alright? Have you been bitten?"

Makoto felt as if he'd swallowed a bucket of seawater as a familiar face drifted before him. "R-Ryuugazaki-san, what are—"

"You have brought them straight to us," Rin seethed.

Rei lifted the flashlight from Makoto's face, satisfied he appeared unharmed. "You shouldn't be out here. There are barricades set up for..." His authoritative voice trailed off as the light illuminated the unnatural silver skin of Makoto's companions.

Rin acted before anyone else, baring his teeth with a dangerous snarl and beating down his tail against the water.

Rei took in the ferocious sight of him and blanched. "I knew it wasn't a shark," he spoke, more to himself than Makoto. "The bite radius, the tail – it didn't match up. But _this_..." His dark eyes darted to the writhing child Rin held possessively, widening as he jumped to his own conclusions. The situation didn't look good – a creature already suspected of attacking humans carrying what at first glance appeared to be a human child in indescribable pain.

"Ryuugazaki-san – Rei, listen to me," Makoto began, taking the professor by the shoulders. He needed to get things under control before the patrols arrived, and that left him with mere seconds to work with. "It's a long story but I swear I can explain it all later. For now—"

But Rei wasn't hearing him. He took Makoto's hands and attempted to pull him away from Rin and Haruka. "Get back. These are dangerous predators. They are already responsible for three attacks on our beaches, and I won't let one of my students be next." He fumbled at his hip and retrieved what looked like a dart gun.

"No, Rei, you don't understand—Rin!" He lunged forward to keep Rin at bay, as the redhead looked within an inch of tearing Rei's throat out, but in the process Makoto missed Haruka lashing out, his smaller jaws clamping around Rei's wrist.

Rei screamed. Haruka latched onto him, bright eyes shooting meaningfully over to Rin, who checked only to make sure Mieko was all right before flipping into the dark water and disappearing. They wouldn't be back, Makoto knew, and insides twisted. The last memory he would have of his son was his shriveled, aggrieved body just beginning to grow back its scales, but he didn't have the time for grieve this injustice now.

"Haruka, stop, you have to!" Makoto, unthinking, grabbed him roughly under the arms. "He's not going to hurt you, he—_AAGH_!"

It was different from Rin's bite. Haruka's teeth were not as large, but there seemed to be more of them, little razors that tore easily through the skin. The bite did not go as deep as Rin's had, but it hurt like hell. Tears stung his eyes.

"Haruka!"

Haruka jumped back suddenly, his chest heaving. Frightened blue eyes locked onto Makoto's before Haruka whistled – that desperate, panicked whistle, the same as when he'd awoken in Makoto's bathtub. Because the searchlights were upon them, and their time was up. Fighting through the shooting pain in his arm, Makoto attempted to calm Haruka down, but Haruka squirmed away from him in frantic flight for open sea.

The net came down on him before he could swim even two yards out. Haruka squealed, tail thrashing against the wire. Little cuts opened on his skin, the same as Makoto had seen when he'd found Mieko trapped in the shark net, but Haruka didn't notice the wounds. He continued to struggle, his whistles threatening and pleading at the same time. Makoto heard him calling for Rin, but Rin already had his duty, and if he actually abandoned Mieko to save Haruka – even though Haruka was his mate, and Sessmalla, and screaming for him – Haruka would never forgive him.

As he didn't look like he'd calm down anytime soon, and he'd already bitten two humans who'd come in close proximity to him, the tranquilizers came next. A paramedic ushered Rei from the water, and another approached Makoto. Makoto pushed her out of the way and forced his legs to work.

"Haruka," he rasped, dragging his injured arm through the water. The throb from the bite was dull compared to the sight of Haruka's awkward and sluggish movements as the tranquilizer took effect on the proud and elegant creature.

A collective gasp rose as a silver-blue tail broke the water's surface and limply crashed back down again as Haruka's body failed him. Makoto could only watch, and wish he'd been there fast enough to catch him.

"It's true," someone whispered.

Trembling, Makoto came to stand over Haruka's unconscious form. His mouth worked but no sound came out. The world around him seemed to fade out of existence, all other sight and sound muted and unimportant, as the one bright spot in his existence was captured and dragged out of the water as if he were nothing.

He was nothing. These people saw only a dangerous animal. He was not something magnificent to be respected and admired; he was a predator, something frightening that they did not understand, that needed to be put down before it brought harm to anyone else.

"You can't... you can't do this..."

His words fell on deaf ears. People milled about, collecting Haruka's scales from where they floated in the water, speaking theories and hypothesis over top of each other and jabbering excitedly about who would take the credit for the amazing discovery. Haruka's body was hauled up to the shore and dumped there while the authorities deliberated. Only the intermittent rise of the waves kept the scales of his tail moist.

"Haru..."

"Sir, you need to have your arm looked at."

Makoto blinked, forced himself to look at the petite brunette standing in front of him, her eyebrows drawn in concern. "My arm?"

The paramedic took him gently by the hand and led him to where he'd seen Rei taken earlier.

"You're bleeding," she said gently. "You were bitten by that creature—"

"Haruka," Makoto said, eyes narrowing. He pulled his hand free and she ducked her head in apology. "His name is Haruka."

That surprised her, but not for the reason Makoto might have assumed. "His?" She pursed her lips and glanced over her shoulder at Haruka's body. "The creature is clearly female."

Makoto looked as well – his first proper look at Haruka's body in the three years since they'd parted. While he seemed about the same size, there was a bit more weight on him than Makoto remembered, a softness to his arms and stomach that hadn't been there before, and in place of the firm muscles of his chest were a pair of small, round breasts. Female, as the paramedic claimed.

He felt dizzy.

The woman caught him when he stumbled, a sympathetic smile on her face. "Don't worry. We'll get you checked up. Shouldn't take much to bandage the bite up, but you'll have to get some blood work done. No telling what sort of diseases that thing might carry."

This wasn't happening. Couldn't be happening. Everything he'd done to get Mieko back to Mieko – the promise he'd made to Rin, the vows he'd made to _himself _to ensure that Haruka and Mieko lived on happily... All of it was ruined now. Even worse, the secret of the Sessa race had been exposed, endangering their entire species.

And it was all Makoto's fault.


End file.
